History of Hemp

REDISCOVERING TRADITION

Hemp is not only one of the oldest human industries: it's in fact the oldest that we have direct evidence of. Chart the changing face of hemp cultivation with out click-through timeline:
8,000BC

According to the Columbia History of the World, the oldest relic of human industry is a piece of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC. Though originating in Central Asia, it is believed to have spread by humans to China, India and Europe.
2,700 BC

The legendary Chinese emperor Shennong, ("the Divine Farmer") catalogued hemp as a in what is often cited as the world's first medical text, listing the various medicinal herbs discovered by Shennong by grade and rarity. He described hemp as a 'superiour herb' - and with good reason.
1,400 BC

Hemp use recorded in India in cultural and religious ceremonies, and recorded in Sanskrit scriptural texts dating back to this period. The medical work Sushruta, compiled sometime before BC 1000, claims that hemp can cure leprosy.
800 BC

The Scythians are believed to have brought hemp into Europe from Central Asia, and are also credited with the invention of the scythe. In the 5th Century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus described the fine hemp-woven garments produced by their culture.
563 BC

BC Gautama Buddha (563 BCE to 483 BCE), believed by many Buddhist sects to have eaten nothing but hemp and hemp seeds for six years. What is certainly true is that hemp was widely cultivated at this point in Northern India, where he is believed to have spent most of his time.
300 BC

Roman aqueducts constructed to supply water to cities and industrial sites. It is believed that these staggering feats of engineering were constructed using a hemp mortar.
100 BC

Chinese produce paper from mulberry tree bark, hemp, rags, bark, and other fibrous materials. 105 A.D. is often cited as the year in which papermaking was invented, by Chinese court official Tsai Lun, though historians now believe this took place 200 years earlier. The addition of hemp to he mulberry tree bark pulp helped produce a much higher quality paper, an invention which spread to the rest of world through the Silk Road.
70 AD

Hemp cultivated for the first time in England. By 400, hemp was a well-established crop.
100 AD

Greek surgeon Pedanius Dioscorides, practicing in Rome under Nero, names the plant Cannabis Sativa and describes its various medicinal uses in his pioneering five-volume work, De Materia Medica. He noted its particularly strong fibres and medicinal properties. Gaius Plinius Secundus, (23 - 79), writes Naturalis Historia, which tells of the industrial uses of hemp, and also speaks of how it can be properly farmed.
565 AD

The Merovingians, a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled over present-day France and Germany, bury Queen Adelgunde in a particularly refined hemp weaving.
600 AD

A bridge made of hemp hurds mixed with lime is built in the South of France. The bridge actually petrified and is still strong today.
800 AD

Charlemagne, the founder of the Holy Roman Empire, passes legislation governing the plantation of hemp.
1009 AD

Hemp-based paper at last makes its way into Europe via Arabic culture. The first paper mill in Europe built in Xativa, Spain. Paper making continued here under Moorish rule until 1244 when European armies drove them out. For the next 850 years, paper is mostly made from hemp.
1100 AD

Knights during the Middle Ages drank hemp beer.
1215 AD

Magna Carta, the first step in the process towards constitutional law, was drafted on Hemp paper.
1492 AD

The hemp ropes, sails and rigging that Columbus used to cross the Atlantic were all made from the uniquely strong, long fibres that the hemp plant produces. Had they been made from other materials, they wouldn�t have lasted out the long, arduous journey.
1535 AD

Henry VIII, the most powerful of all Britain's monarchs, passes an act stating that all landowners must sow 1/4 acre of hemp, or be fined.
1564 AD

King Phillip of Spain orders hemp grown throughout his empire, from modern-day Argentina to Oregon, following the example of the British Queen Elisabeth I who passed a similar law in England just one year earlier.
1600 AD

Galileo, the "modern father of astronomy" makes his scientific observation notes on hemp paper.
1791 AD

President Washington establishes import taxes on hemp to encourage domestic industry; Jefferson calls hemp "a necessity", and urges farmers to grow hemp instead of tobacco: "Make the most of the hemp seed. Sow it everywhere." --George Washington "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth and prosperity of the nation" -- Thomas Jefferson.
1892 AD

The invention of the diesel engine by Rudolph Diesel, intended to run on oils such as those obtained from hemp seeds.
1941-1945 AD

"Hemp for Victory" campaign initiated in the USA due to the severage of the supply of hemp from Japan during World War II, required for vital military items (rope, canvas, textiles). Subsidies were offered to farmers for growing hemp, who were even exempted for military service, as were their sons. Promotional films like "Hemp for Victory" were produced illustrating the importance of what were known as 'Victory Gardens' of the plant. Hemp cultivation increased by several thousand percent as a result.
2001 AD

"Hemp car" crosses North America using hemp bio-diesel as fuel. The car departed from Washington D.C. on July 4, 2001 and returned home on October 2, 2001 after having travelled 10,000 miles in a bid to promote the use of hemp as an alternative fuel.